That Point

It was at that age
of worrying about others,
of feeling not enough,
of looking for a pattern that was myself
that I put words down,
fearing them
or if not them, fearing those who read them.

At that age when I didn’t know what I thought,
I was astonished that the hand that wrote
knew more than I did
and taught that I must be brave,
fearless on the page in a way I had not yet learned to be in life
so that I became a writer to teach myself.
To have someone I trusted as a guide.

It was at that age when I wanted to be admired––
that age when I sought to be loved––
that age when I yearned to be thought a thinker,
important, listened to––
that I was somehow encouraged to listen to myself.

There are these times we are led to by life
that become turning points
so long as we continue.
That sentence. That first sentence stretching
into the future, into now.

I’m republishing this poem from 2016 for the dVerse Poets Krisis (Turning Point) theme. April 12, 2025 on Open Link Night, Apr 10, 2025